Update
This story was updated Oct. 18 with additional information from Karsen Zwiers.
Fountain Park Pool will once again close for repairs this month to fix problems with its ventilation system.
The City of St. Albert announced Oct. 18 that Fountain Park Recreation Centre will close on Oct. 26 between 5:30 a.m. and 3:45 p.m. so crews can fix the building’s ventilation system. Swimming lessons beginning at 4 p.m. that day will proceed as planned.
The closure comes just over two months after the pool reopened following a $16.5 million repair and upgrade process — a process that saw the facility closed from May 2022 to last July 31.
Those repairs and upgrades saw crews replace the building’s 45-year-old ventilation system with a gigantic house-sized HVAC unit that could pull heat from the building’s exhaust and use it to heat the pools.
In an email, city senior project manager Karsen Zwiers said crews found issues with some of the compressors in the HVAC unit and determined that they would have to shut the unit off to fix the problem. As Alberta Health Services doesn’t allow pools to operate without functional air handling systems, the pool will have to be closed while the fix happens. The HVAC’s issues don’t pose any risk to the public, Zwiers said.
Zwiers said the fix should let the unit run more efficiently and create a more stable environment in the pool building. They shouldn’t cost the city any more money as they are covered by warranty.
Pool users can visit the Landrex Water Play Centre in Servus Credit Union Place (400 Campbell Road) while Fountain Park Pool is closed.
